Electronic-currency

Just in the last quarter of 1999, dozens of business-to-business e-commerce sites have popped up, and most are experiencing swift activity on their sites. Practices like bartering, trading, and exchanging, which are now taking place at these new sites, have been embraced by buyer and sellers in the automotive, construction, advertising and media, printing, and retail markets. Experts say these practices are going over well because they help users to increase sales and market share, decrease cash expenditures, reduce surplus inventory, take advantage of underutilized capacity, and increase cash flow.

Bitpass is a prepaid account that allows you to purchase digital content and services in a couple of clicks. It was founded in December, 2002 and partnered with major technology and financial services companies such as Microsoft, PayPal, the Royal Bank of Scotland and First Data.

Bitpass provides an innovative commerce, loyalty, promotions and commerce that bundles authentication, payment and access control. Bitpass enables a la carte- and subscription-based purchases at any price point. Their products are designed to be easiest way to promote and sell digital content, required very little time or technical expertise to get started. For the content buyer, Bitpass worked like a pre-paid telephone card. The buyer just needs to sign up for the service and put money into an account using a credit card or PayPal. This stored-value amount could be used to purchase digital content or service.

On January 19th, 2007 Bitpass announced that they were shutting down, and operations officially closed on Junuary 26th, 2007.

Credit Card Debts: Causes and Prevention

Top 5 causes of debt

1. Reduced income / same expenses
Too often we delay bringing expenses in line with a reduction in income for a host of good reasons and let debt fill the gap. The sooner you adjust to your new reality, whether it be temporary or permanent, the better off you'll be.

2. Poor money management.
A monthly spending plan is essential. Without one you have no idea where your money is going. You may be spending hundreds of dollars unnecessarily each month and end up having to charge purchases on which you should have spent that money. Planning is no more difficult than writing down your expenses and income and reconciling the two. You will be surprised at how powerful you'll feel when you are making thoughtful decisions about where and when to spend your money.

3. Banking on a windfall.
Spending tomorrow's money today is very tempting. Especially if you believe that tomorrow will come no matter what. A planned job bonus may not be a sure thing. The inheritance that you believe will come your way may not. The lesson is don't spend the money until the check clears.

4. No money communication skills
It is important to communicate with your spouse or significant other and your children about finances. Keep the lines of communication open and discuss financial goals and spending styles. If you are married to a spender and you are a saver, you will want to map out a strategy for you both to get what you want. Know what credit accounts you each have and promise each other to be honest about what each other spends. Many people find out that their spouses have racked up thousands of dollars in credit card debt and they had no idea that the accounts even existed.

5. Financial illiteracy.
Many people don't understand how money works and grows, how to save and invest for a rainy day, or even why they should balance their checkbook. The schools don't teach it, your parents may not have sat you down and explained it. It doesn't matter. You are responsible for your life and your money anyway. Financial mistakes are increasingly expensive and complicated to resolve. Get educated and get in control.

sources : G:\Bankrate's Guide to Managing Your Debt Top 10 causes of debt.mht

Prevention Of Credit Debts

5 simple rules to prevent credit card debt

1. Establish a budget and then follow that budget exactly. In other words, don't be tempted to charge that plasma TV to your credit card on a whim when you haven't budgeted for it this month.

2. Carry a credit card balance for no longer than six months. Skaggs explains that beyond that point, the compounding of simple interest can produce a very expensive balance to pay off. If it helps, think of your credit card balance as a snowball that grows larger as it rolls downhill.

3. Know what you're doing with reward credit cards. Holders of these can end up spending more than the reward itself is worth if they don't pay attention to the fees and interest associated with their credit card.

4. Get a low interest credit card if your credit card's interest rate is excessive. The better your credit, the lower the rate for whichy you will qualify.

5. Be aware that balance transfer credit cards' teaser rates won't last forever. Six months is common now. The "normal" rate will return sooner than you think, so use that interest-free period to aggressively pay down balances.

Sources : mhtml:file://G:\5%20simple%20rules%20to%20prevent%20credit%20card%20debt.mht

Article from ecommerze .com

Buying clothes online that fit your measurement

Have you ever buy clothes online? If yes, do you manage to get the measurement accurately?According to the Forrester Research, the Internet consulting firm, a total of US$ 9.6 billion worth of apparel was transacted over the Internet in 2006. However, none of the buyers tried the apparel on first before buying it. This resulted in almost 30% return on the apparel bought online due to incorrect measurement.

Screencapture of myShape.comnow, you can try myShape.com - a website where users can provide their basic body dimension and style preferences. Through this e-commerce business model, shoppers are able to purchase personalised clothing collection matched to they style and fit preferences and body dimensions. This helps to reduce the rate of return experienced by the online shoppers.May be the guys with the big tummy can try this site too in order to get the right size of the preferred apparel.Current, it does not provide any international shipping. I believe this e-commerce business model will be available soon for worldwide customers.The NewYork Times has an interesting story on this.

source:http://ecommerze.blogspot.com/search/label/e-Tailing

Blogger's comment

Tired of fighting traffic at the mall? Are you looking for plus size clothing or vintage clothing? Forget the hassles of parking and pushy salespeople, shopping for clothing online provide more options than ever before.

It is become possible to purchase clothes through online which are match to your shape, preference and measurement nowadays. Thus shopping for clothing online has become more and more popular especially for the true busy mother who can find what they need exactly without leaving their house: they can track their shipments, and have them delivered to their front door.

Despite the growth of e-commerce, most consumers still prefer to buy clothing and apparel in retail stores especially in Malaysia. Online shopping in Malaysia is in its infancy. In a survey of more than 7,000 adults, it has been found that only 9% prefer to buy apparel online.The most common reason given for not shopping online is that it is not possible to try on the clothes. Thus, it is found that buying clothes online still cannot replace the experience of actually touching, trying on, and using the product before purchasing, which allows brick-and-mortar stores to continue to be the true retailing experience.

Consumer attitudes and behavior have a big influence on making the decision to buy from the Internet. In Malaysia, the majority of buyers like to do brick-and-mortar shopping. One of the shopping malls located in Kuala Lumpur, Suria Mall has 450,000 visitors per week. To visit a shopping mall has become a kind of Malaysian “weekend activity”. A growing number of shopping complexes are opening in Malaysia which might be the major competitor to the Internet portal sites.

Malaysia has a huge potential for Internet procurement. However, it is hard to Malaysians to adopt online shopping due to cultural inertia. This culture will change for Malaysian consumers as they become aware of the advantages of online shopping. If the consumer can be convinced that it is safe and reliable to purchase online, the potential will be unleashed.

The Application of Pre-paid Cash Card For Consumers

A pre-paid card is like a credit or debit card. Its give consumers ability to purchase the products and services with a card by just swap the card on the counter.

Because it is a prepaid card, spending limits are set by the amount of money you load onto the card. When you make a purchase with the pre-paid card, the purchase amount is deducted from the card balance. You can add more money on a regular basis or whenever the money runs low.

There are numerous benefits offer by pre-paid card. Pre-paid card have no credit checks, which means you can get a card without worrying about your credit history. Second, its do not have debt risk. With a prepaid card, you do not worry about you spend too much as you are limited to the amount you put on your card. Third, it is safety because you not need to carry large amount of cash to purchase the products and services. If your card gets lost or stolen, your remaining balance will be transferred across to a new account, and you will receive a replacement card.


One of the examples of prepaid card is Touch n Go card. Touch n Go card uses contactless smartcard technology. The card looks similar to a credit card. User can continue using the card as long as it is pre-loaded with electronic cash. User can reload the card at many places such as toll plazas, train stations, Automated Teller Machines, and Cash Deposit Machines.

Touch ‘n Go card enhances the speed of paying for low value but high frequency transactions. Apart from the speed, it is also very convenient because user no longer need to prepare for small change or wait in queue at the cash lane to complete the transaction.

pic source : http://www.mobile-weblog.com/50226711/mcommerce.gif

Mobile payment systems in Malaysia:
Its potentials and consumers’ adoption strategies

Mobile payment is a point-of-sale payment made through a mobile device such as mobile phone, smartphone, or personal digital assistant (PDA). So how does mobile payment work? For instance, in a restaurant, the bill can be paid directly from the table without waiting for waiter to bring the check. The patron would simply connect to the cash register with a wireless device ( eg. smartphone), punch in the table number and bank personal identification number (PIN), authorize payment and whole payment is done.


The latest product of mobile payment is Mobile Money or MM Wallet. Mobile Money is a PIN-based mobile payment solution launched by Mobile Money International Sdn Bhd to address the flaws and bottlenecks brought by cash, cheques and credit cards. Maybank MM Wallet allows consumers to use their mobile phones to make domestic fund transfer and purchases of selected goods and services up to RM500 in value. A RM0.50 fee is charged per transaction.

Besides ordinary users, merchants are targeted market in Malaysia. They can sell to people across town, across the country and take payment around the clock, which is not possible with traditional payment systems. Transaction fee of MM Wallet is relatively cheap compared to credit card interest fee. Moreover, they only need an existing account to apply for MM Wallet. It saves them a lot of time and money to deal with these matters.

pic source : http://www.mobile-money.com/images/aboutus/image012.jpg

pic source : http://www.mobile-money.com/images/aboutus/image014.jpg

What we concerned is how would the consumers perceive and adopt this payment system? There are a few factors consumers might take into consideration when deciding whether to use MM Wallet:

1) Relative advantages of MM Wallet.
Compare the advantages of MM Wallet with traditional payment instruments pertain to time and location independent purchase possibilities.

2) Compatibility.
The ability of consumers to integrate MM Wallet into their daily lives.

3) Complexity.
Ease of use and convenience expected from the payment system.

4) Payment system security and trust in payment system provider.
The key requirements for secure financial transactions in electronic environment include confidentiality, data integrity, authentication, and non-repudiation.


source from http://project.hkkk.fi/helsinkimobility/papers/Mobile%20Applications_2_3.pdf